title: Line-of-duty deaths among U.S. firefighters: an analysis of fatality investigations.
abstract: More than 100 firefighters die in the line-of-duty in the U.S. each year and over 80,000 are injured. This study examined all firefighter fatality investigations (N = 189) completed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for fatalities occurring between 2004 and 2009. These investigations produced a total of 1167 recommendations for corrective actions. Thirty-five high frequency recommendations were derived from the total set: six related to medical fatalities and 29 to injury-related fatalities. These high frequency recommendations were mapped onto the major operational components of firefighting using a fishbone or cause-effect diagram. Over 70% of the 30 non-external recommendations were categorized within the personnel and incident command components of the fishbone diagram. Root cause techniques suggested four higher order causes: under-resourcing, inadequate preparation for/anticipation of adverse events during operations, incomplete adoption of incident command procedures, and sub-optimal personnel readiness. These findings are discussed with respect to the core culture of firefighting.
authors.affiliation: Workplace Health Group, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-6522, USA. kumar.kunadharaju@gmail.com
authors.forename: Kumar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kunadharaju
authors.forename: Todd D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: DeJoy
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D015984:Causality; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009314:National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U.S.; D010559:Personnel Management; D012306:Risk; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014481:United States; D014838:Volunteers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control